The candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Chief Joseph Anifowose, has stepped down for Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the June 20, 2026 governorship election in the state.
The candidate made the disclosure on Tuesday at a rally organised by the APC in Igede-Ekiti as part of its campaign.
Chief Anifowose cited the need to sustain the tempo of growth and development being witnessed under the BAO Administration in the last three and a half years for his decision to step down and work for the re-election of Oyebanji.
He told party leaders, supporters, and residents at the rally that his decision was informed by the visible transformation and developmental strides recorded in the state under the Oyebanji administration, which he described as a turning point in Ekiti State’s governance.
According to him, the progress in infrastructure, social services, and governance reforms across the state had convinced him that continuity was necessary to sustain and deepen the ongoing development agenda.
He said: “If you look at Governor Oyebanji in the last three and a half years, he has been able to mobilise all the former governors for the development of the state.
“Governor Oyebanji is a divine arrangement and a God sent.
“He has shown capacity and competence and he is committed to making Ekiti great
“That is why my party APM has decided to support the governor.
“We held the state executive and the state working committee meetings where all the local government executives were directed to go and vote for Governor Oyebanji and it was publicly announced.”
Earlier in Ilawe Ekiti, Governor Oyebanji; Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; and Senate spokesman, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, declared that there will no breathing space for the opposition in the battle to secure the votes of the electorate in the forthcoming governorship and general election in Ekiti State.
The trio said the APC is poised to achieve a landslide victory in the June 20 governorship election and the January 2027 presidential election to ensure the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose benevolence and magnanimity, according to them, have benefitted Ekiti State in the last three years.
Addressing a teeming crowd at the two locations, Oyebanji stressed that major capital projects being executed by both state and federal governments are gestures to prove that the APC loves the state and that the people of the state have not made mistake in voting the party to power.
Some of the projects referenced by the Governor included Ikere-Ilawe Road, Ikere-Igbara Odo Road, Igbara Odo-Ikogosi Road, Ilawe-Erijiyan Road, and Ilawe General Hospital, all executed by his administration and Ikere-Iju-Ita Ogbolu-Akure Highway, which one lane has been completed by the Federal Government, and Itawure-Aramoko-Igede-Ado Highway presently being reconstructed also by the Federal Government.
According to the governor, the Federal Government under the leadership of President Tinubu is already fixing the notorious Itawure-Aramoko-Igede-Ado Highway.
While urging the people of Ekiti State to keep the APC in power at state and federal levels, Oyebanji said the President also demonstrated his love for the state by appointing many of its indigenes to prominent and enviable positions in his administration.
The APC governorship flag bearer also disclosed that two power transmission stations at Ilupeju Ekiti and Ijesa Isu Ekiti being executed by the Tinubu-led Federal Government are nearing completion and would boost power supply for domestic and industrial use in the state.
He charged the electorate to repay the favour with their votes at the polls.
He also aimed a dig at the opposition parties in the state who he carpeted for their inactivity on the campaign field, accusing them of being only present on social media unlike the APC that is vigorously engaging the electorate and taking its campaigns to their domains to demonstrate readiness to sweep the available votes on election day.
Oyebanji said: “We are targeting not less than 500,000 votes at the coming election and 177-0 result at ward level because we don’t want to lose any of the wards.
“Here in Ekiti South West, which has 11 wards, we are expecting 11-0.
“We urge our fathers, mothers, youths, and everybody to look for the APC name and logo on the ballot paper and thumbprint validly.
“As we leave here, let us return home and make peace with everybody.
“You see, no other party is campaigning.
“They are only campaigning on social media.
“And that is where they will hear their own result.
“God has given us victory already.”
Adaramodu, who is the representative of Ekiti South Senatorial District and Deputy Director General of the Campaign Council, maintained that the only agenda on ground was to deliver victory for Oyebanji and Tinubu.
He insisted that other candidates who are not from APC would not win any election because the zone is a no-go area for the opposition.
He said: “In Ekiti South West Local Government, we have about 56,000 registered voters and if we deliver less than 50,000, we have not done well.
